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DIY or movers
What renting and driving a truck yourself costs in fuel and days, next to what people paid full-service movers for the same move.
You get rental truck fuel and days against what movers cost, side by side.
Do it yourself
$178 to $357
fuel for a 15 to 16 ft truck over 500 loaded miles. About 2 driving days.
Plus: the rental (quoted by the brand for your dates), coverage, equipment, 1 night on the road, tolls, and your time.
Full-service movers
$4,100
Median reviewers paid for a 2 bedroom to another state, since 1 Jan 2025. Crew, truck, and driving included.
Sources: truck mpg and fuel type from U-Haul, Penske and Budget spec pages (low end, loaded); US EIA weekly fuel, week of 19 Oct 2026; Haulest review file as of 29 Oct 2026. Road miles from OSRM when your route is saved.
Where are you moving?
To weigh a crew against the truck, movers need the route. Add From and To and up to 4 licensed movers quote, free.
All four ways to move. Research ranges as of September 2026, not bids; UK notes are UK jobs, not converted US rates.
| Way to move | When it wins | Labor you still do | When it breaks | US range | UK note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service crew | Stairs, a piano, little time, or you cannot drive a 26 ft truck. | They pack if you pay for it, load, drive, unload. | Access they did not survey. A peak Saturday. A different truck than the estimate. | $1,100 to $8,600 | £750 to £3,400 |
| Container | You need days between keys. You can load, or pay labor separately. | You or a labor crew. The box sits. | A street that cannot place the container. An HOA refusal. | $800 to $5,500 | Storage plus man and van; ask by postcode |
| DIY truck | You can drive, your back is fine, and the sofa will pivot. | You, plus friends you will owe pizza. | One-way fees, fuel, and a driveway the truck will not enter. | $200 to $2,400 plus fuel | Van hire plus fuel |
| Labor only | You already have the truck or container. | Load and unload. You still drive. | Hourly clocks when the elevator is late. | $40 to $80 per mover per hour | Man and van hourly; get waiting time in writing |
How to read this
The DIY number is fuel only, because the rental itself is quoted by each brand for your route and dates. Fuel uses the low end of each brand's own mpg estimate, since a loaded truck does worse than the brochure, and this week's US average price from the EIA. The movers number is what reviewers reported paying for a whole move, not a quote.
DIY usually wins on short, easy moves with friends to lift. It stops winning when the drive runs past a day, the home has stairs or a piano, or the only person who can drive the truck is you. See truck rental vs movers and the truck sizes.
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